Does anyone have a 2005 Montana 3685FL?

[Montana_2452]

I am new to this Forum, I have a question for you members.
Just wondering as we saw the 2005 Montana 3685FL at the Tampa RV Show today, it looked like a real nice unit with a front living room e/w a fireplace,two 80" sofas, free standing dinette, garden tub & four (4) slides, also has a rear bedroom with its own entry door.
Pleasantly surprised at the aluminum welded studs that we could see in the cargo areas.
Does anyone on here have one and do they like it?
Show price was $44296...seemed like a pretty fair (good) price for this 2005 unit.
Anybody have any quality problems with this unit, appreciate an assessment of it.
Thanks.....Ernie

[Broome101]

We bought ours in July of this year ordered it, came in week after labor day. We lover ours, no prblems as of yet but only went oput 3 thimes in it before putting it up for winter. we ordered ours with all options other than the double pane windows and maybe should have gotten them to cut down on condensation if staying long periods of time. We aslo got gelcoat and washer and dryer installed by dealer total price was $37,999.00 with all options. Dealer was Terrel Camping Center Sherrills Ford, NC, they are a Keystone, Jayco dealer. Major russell was our saels rep this is the third unit we have gotten from him and they are great to work with. The sale tones of Montanas, only thing I could say negative aboutterrell is they sale so many units they need to enlarge service center to handle load more. They enlarged it a year ago but need to enlarge again, but all in all the guys are great.Not sure where you live but I would give them a call it's worth 5K to drive to NC to get a better deal. There number is 828-478-2651, they are closed on Sunday & Monday open 8-6 rest of the time.

[BillyRay]

we have a 2004...I don't know if there are any changes in '05, but it is a nice unit.

[Montana_1235]

Ernie

We bought a 2004 model and took delivery at the end of May this year. It was probably one of the last 04’s made. We paid $35,8000 for it including the 16K Reese hitch, from Reines RV in Manassas, VA. We ordered ours in February and it took 14 weeks to get it.

We have gone on 8 camping trips this season and have had several problems that popped up. Most of them happened during the first three or four trips.

1). Black tank leaks when it’s full and the outside black tank flush is used.
2). Ceiling is wavy in the living room on the left side.
3). Window in living room on right side cannot be opened, (window sash falling).
4). All windows leak, (channels get water in them in a heavy storm).
5). Front door does not seal at the bottom, (needs alignment).
6). Button on sofa fell off.
7). Ceiling panel striping coming loose in dining room.
8). Slide rubber gasket torn on the bedroom slide.
9). 50 amp inlet cover is cracked.
10). Furnace makes a gurgling sound after it has been running, (intermittent).
11). Dining room exterior slide molding does not line up.
12). Dining room carpet got soaking wet while driving in a heavy rain storm.
13). Bedroom Slide, once closed, is not even from top to bottom. Bottom has gap.
14). Bedroom shade has come partially apart at the day / night split.
15). Two storage compartment doors have wavy bubbles in the fiberglass.

We really like the camper in spite of the things that need to be corrected. I wanted to use it during the season and keep a record of what needed to be corrected. As a matter of fact that’s what the dealer told me to do. I kept track of the problems as we were told to do and in two weeks it’s going back to the dealer for the warranty repairs.

We like the layout of the 3685 FL and really enjoy the fireplace on the cool days. We used it the last two trips this year and it works great! It will heat up the living room and dining room to the point of keeping the furnace from working. We bought a small ceramic heater for the bedroom and used the combination of the two electric heaters to heat the camper instead of using the propane.

Bill

[Bob & Lee]

Looks like Bill and Pat have a list of small problems,we I gess have been lucky. we bought ours in Nov 03 and only have about 1200 miles on it and have lived in it full time from 2 Jan 04 till now and have had no real problems we are now trying to get our DVD fixed, may have waited to long our 1 year is past and the DVD is only 90 days.we are waiting for the dealer to get word from Montana. we didnt get the double pane windows, our sales man didnt offer them to us, so we didnt know, he wanted to sell the one on the lot and not have us ordrer one I gess. Iam puting storm windows (plexaglass)on the inside now and have noticed a great deal of heat retention. will post pictures later it has only been 20-25 Deg here so far, also have made a storm door from the posts that others have maded the door is great my wife loves it, and others in our park now have there husbands making them one. We also love our fireplace, the only other thing I need to get now is floor vents for the heater that open and close to regulate the heat, I have been using books and tape. the thing I notice is the floor in the by the vents is the floor is not glued down so when I restrict the flow of the floor will raise up with air under it, so Iam glueing the floor down around the vents. But all aside we love our Home.

[Dental Floss Tycoon]

We bought an '04 3685FL off the lot in July that has a manufacture date of April 29. Our trade-in was another company's fiver that we ordered in February 04 and took delivery of in May. We had so many problems with this other unit that I have come to the conclusion that the manufacturer's are receiving so many orders at this time of year for the spring rush that quality control suffers. I suspect the main reason our Montana has had so few problems (any problems that did come up were rectified by myself in about 10 minutes)was because it was made after "the rush".

The main modifications I have done so far was to get rid of the Quest DVD/surround system and replace it with a Sony DVD/surround system, and change the factory thermostat with a Hunter digital thermostat.

We have used our Monty every weekend since taking delivery and couldn't be happier.

[BillyRay]

we ordered ours in late in 2003 signed for it at the end of 03...took delivery in spring of 04. nice unit...several small problems..and a few big, but nothing more than any other unit would probably have. it's a nice design and very practical for our needs..I would have liked a bigger awning though...(wish we negociated it into the price!

front living room slide leaks.
couch was comming apart at the seams.
one kitchen cabinette is comming apart.
hot water tank fixed several times until finally replaced.
molding above cabinettes comming apart.
outdoor cabinette leaked really bad flooded compartment.
front jacks quit working.
bed rollers wearing out carpet.
shower leaked via showerhead base unit.
washer/dryer unit keeps braking loose.
pocket sliding door keeps comming off track.


I think there is a few more things, but can't think of them right now.

[Dental Floss Tycoon]

One of the "problems" we had was the couch on the left side wasn't properly attached to the base. How I found this out was the first time I unfolded and lied down it, I ended up on the floor with the couch on top of me! About eight 2-inch screws with washers solved that problem.

[Montana_2452]

Thanks to everyone that took the time to give us your input, the unit is really a nice looking Fifth Wheel.
Really appreciate this....Ernie & Claudette.